Pumpkin Brownies {Whole Wheat}
This recipe has been winning hearts and minds since 2013 and has been shared thousands of times. Find out what all the fuss is about and learn how to achieve the ultimate brownie texture with whole grains, pumpkin spice and the most popular good-for-you ingredient of the season: pumpkin! With a rich chocolatey fudge brownie base and a creamy layer of pumpkin on top, these pumpkin brownies are the ultimate fall dessert. They’re easy to make and so delicious.
Table of contents
Healthy Seasonal Recipe’s Pumpkin Brownies
If you’re like me, at this time of year you’re feeling all the fall vibes (hello decorative gourds) sipping PSLs and pinning healthy pumpkin desserts recipes. If that’s you too, you’re going to want to save this Whole Wheat Pumpkin Brownie recipe. They’re made with brownie batter on the bottom and pumpkin pie filling on the top, which then gets swirled together into the perfect fall dessert. Make them for a bake sale, or take to a potluck. They’re one of those easy pumpkin desserts that is healthy (ish) and also a crowd-pleaser!
Ways to make pumpkin brownies healthy
- These healthy pumpkin brownies are made with whole grains.
- The pumpkin adds Vitamin A and fiber.
- The pumpkin pie swirl is made with reduced fat cream cheese.
- You can also feel free to make them lower in sugar by swapping some of the granulated sugar out and use your favorite non-nutritive sweetener (like monk fruit.)
- We have a gluten-free option and they can also be made dairy free
We love our healthy brownies (and blondies) around here. Don’t miss our Sweet Potato Blondies, Gluten-free Maple Blondies, Trail Mix Greek Yogurt Brownies, One Bowl Brownies and Whole Wheat Brownies.
Healthy Pumpkin Pie Brownies Ingredients
Pumpkin Swirl Ingredients
- Neufchatel cheese: This can be found with regular cream cheese and is packaged as 1/3 less fat or reduced fat cream cheese. Using a lower fat cream cheese helps to lower the saturated fat and calories slightly.
- Sugar: If you prefer you can use organic sugar or evaporated cane juice.
- Egg: This helps the pumpkin custard set up, almost like the texture of pumpkin cheesecake.
- Pumpkin puree: If you want to make your own pumpkin puree that will also work here. Just make sure to strain it so that the pumpkin swirl will not be watery.
- Vanilla extract
- Pumpkin pie spice: If you don’t have this on hand, make your own with a blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cloves. Follow proportions in this recipe.
Brownie Base Ingredients
- Pumpkin pie spice: We tried making brownies with pumpkin puree, but the texture was never as good as using our famous Whole Wheat Brownie recipe with a dash of Pumpkin Pie Spice added for flavor.
- Unsalted butter: You’ll need 1 stick of unsalted butter, which is 1/2 cup or 8 tablespoons.
- Oil: For great texture, we use oil in addition to the butter. You can use avocado oil, organic canola oil, or another neutral cooking oil.
- Sugar: The key to great brownie texture is using a granulated sugar. If you do not want to use regular white sugar you can use organic sugar or evaporated cane juice. It will be melted, in part, in the process of making the batter so if you choose a slightly more grainy sugar, like turbinado, just keep an eye on it and make sure any large crystals melt in that part of the recipe. Do not use a liquid sugar like honey, agave or maple syrup this will make the texture fluffy and cake-like.
- Powdered sugar: The key to amazing chewy and dense brownies is using a little powdered sugar in the brownie batter. Again, if you like, you can buy organic powdered sugars. I like Wholesome brand confectioner’s sugar best.
- Chocolate: For the brownie batter you’ll need 1 ½ cup bittersweet chocolate chips. You can also use semisweet or dark chips or chopped bittersweet chocolate instead.
- Eggs: 4 large eggs, room temperature
- Vanilla extract
- Whole wheat flour
- Unsweetened natural cocoa
- Kosher salt plus flaky salt for garnish if desired
- Baking soda
How To Make Pumpkin Brownies
Step 1: Preheat Oven and Prep Pan
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Coat a 9 by 13-inch metal baking pan with cooking spray. Line parchment so the paper is overhanging the sides.
Step 2: Make Pumpkin Cream Cheese Mixture
Beat Neufchatel and ¼ cup sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until completely smooth. Add 1 egg and beat until smooth. Add ¾ cup pumpkin, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice and beat until smooth. Set aside.
Step 3: Melt the Butter and Sugar Mixture
Microwave butter and oil in a large microwave-safe bowl with high heat, covered with plastic wrap, until the butter is melted and the mixture is hot about 2 minutes. Remove plastic wrap. Stir in granulated sugar and powdered sugar. Continue heating on high, stopping to stir the mixture after 30 seconds or so, until the sugar has dissolved slightly, 1 to 2 minutes.
Step 4: Melt Chocolate into Sugar Mixture
Remove from the microwave and whisk in 3/4 cup chocolate chips, until shiny and the chips have melted, about 30 seconds. Stir eggs and 1 tablespoon vanilla into the chocolate mixture until the eggs are just mixed in.
Step 5: Add Dry Ingredients to Brownie Batter
Stir flour, cocoa, salt, 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and the remaining ¾ cup chips into the chocolate mixture until just combined.
Step 6: Layer and Swirl The Two Batters
Spread 2/3 of the brownie batter into the pan. Pour the pumpkin mixture over the brownie batter. Dollop on the remaining brownie batter. Swirl with a clean knife.
Step 7: Bake Pumpkin Pie Brownies
Bake until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean, about 40 minutes. Cool in a pan for about 2 hours on a cooling rack. Sprinkle with flaky salt if desired. Cut into 24 brownies
How To Store Pumpkin Spice Brownies
- Room Temperature: Keep at room temperature for 24 hours or less (longer-term storage should be refrigerated due to dairy in the pumpkin filling.)
- Refrigerated: Cut the brownies and layer them into a resealable storage container or cookie tin. Refrigerated pumpkin brownies will stay fresh in an airtight container for three to five days.
- Freezing instructions: Frozen brownies will keep for 1 to 2 months. You can also layer them into a resealable freezer bag to freeze. Press as much air out of the bag as possible. Defrost frozen brownies at room temperature for about an hour.
Substitutions and Variations to Try
- Gluten-free: You can almost always make our baked goods gluten-free by subbing in a high-quality 1:1 gluten-free flour blend. Our favorite is King Arthur. If you are new to gluten-free baking you can also experiment with creating your own signature gluten-free blend. I recommend Alanna’s guide to learning the nature of each gf flour.
- Dairy-free: Use your favorite vegan butter to make this recipe dairy-free.
- Instead of pumpkin use canned pureed squash or pureed sweet potato for another fall treat.
- Add Nuts: Omit the whole chocolate chips in step 5 and add chopped nuts instead. We love hazelnuts with chocolate, but pecans or walnuts would also be amazingly yummy. Just add some on top of bringing to a potluck in case of allergies.
- Decorate: Play up the black and orange Halloween look and drizzle on stripes of melted milk and dark chocolate on top. Melted white chocolate would also look great.
Serving Suggestions
Haloween Menu: For a family-friendly haloween party, serve these pumpkin brownies as a dessert after our Carrot Ginger Soup and Crockpot Turkey Chili. Make a batch of our favorite wheat rolls and a simple garden salad or Kale Salad with Apple.
For A Sunday Supper in Fall: Make our Spice Roast Chicken, Baked Red Potato Wedges and Lemon Broccoli. Along with this brownie recipe, make this healthy vanilla ice cream.
Dessert Tray: Bring to a potluck or Halloween party or bake sale on a dessert tray layered with our Apple Oatmeal Cookies and these Mini Pecan Pies.
More Pumpkin Recipes to Try
October’s most popular good-for-you ingredient, pumpkin, is the star of these featured recipes.
At Healthy Seasonal Recipes, we specialize in cooking with fresh veggies and creating weeknight meals. Sign up HERE to get more produce-forward dinner ideas for FREE! If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought! Happy Cooking! ~Katie
PrintHealthy Pumpkin Brownie Recipe
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 24 brownies 1x
Description
Healthy Seasonal Recipes recipe for pumpkin brownies made with a whole grain brownie base, creamy pumpkin swirl and delicious pumpkin pie spice flavor! This is a healthy pumpkin dessert that’s also a crowd-pleaser!
Ingredients
Pumpkin Swirl
- 4 ounces Neufchatel cheese (1/3 less fat or reduced fat cream cheese)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Brownie Base
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 1/2 cup avocado oil, organic canola oil, or neutral oil
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips, divided
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Coat a 9 by 13-inch metal baking pan with cooking spray. Line parchment so the paper is overhanging the sides.
- Make Pumpkin Filling: Beat Neufchatel and ¼ cup sugar in a large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until complely smooth. Add 1 egg and beat until smooth. Add pumpkin puree, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice and beat until smooth. Set aside.
- Heat Fat and Melt Sugar: Microwave butter and oil in a large microwave safe bowl with high heat, covered with plastic wrap, until the butter is melted and the mixture is hot, about 2 minutes. Remove plastic wrap. Stir in granulated sugar and powdered sugar. Continue heating on high, stopping to stir the mixture after 30 seconds or so, until the sugar has dissolved slightly, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Melt Chocolate: Remove from the microwave and whisk in 3/4 cup chocolate chips, until shiny and chips have melted, about 30 seconds. Stir eggs and 1 tablespoon vanilla into the chocolate mixture until the eggs are just mixed in.
- Make Chocolate Brownie Batter: Stir flour, cocoa, salt, 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and the remaining ¾ cup chips into the chocolate mixture until just combined.
- Swirl Pumpkin Brownie Batters and Bake: Spread 2/3 of the brownie batter into the pan. Pour the pumpkin mixture over the brownie batter. Dollop on the remaining brownie batter. Swirl with a clean knife.
- Bake until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean, about 40 minutes. Cool in a pan for about 2 hours on a cooling rack. Cut into 24 brownies.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: dessert
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 291
- Sugar: 23 g
- Fat: 17 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Carbohydrates: 36 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 4 g
Super yum ! Moist and fudgy! Not sure about healthier with all the sugar, but very yummy.
Thank you so much for your rating and review. I appreciate it! Let me know what you try next!
Have been making lots of stuff with fresh baked pumpkin this week–what is the total amount of pumpkin puree needed for this recipe? Thank you!
Oh, good catch. I didn’t specify a can size. I used a 15 ounce can. So sub in 2 cups fresh. Enjoy your pumpkin week.
Hi, Katie
I just want to make some pumpkin pies and I come here. I have to say your pies seems delicious and the recipe is what I need. And I will make it for my kids. Anyway, thanks.
Thanks so much Nancy!
Oh my god. Pumpkin pie brownies is my favorite and makes one run at the mouth. Halloween is coming. Pumpkin pie brownies is the perfect food.
Hi Katie. I found your blog through Pinch of Yum. I love it! I can’t believe I could talk to Eating Well contributor.:) They are real people.:) Just decided to say “hi’.:)
Thanks so much for your comment and I am completely flattered! So glad you came by and said hello:)
These look amazing!! Everything I love in a dessert all mixed into one. Perfection!
Thanks Alyssa. Yes it’s a great time of year to be cooking.
Oh my sweet Lord….this sounds SO good!! Pumpkin-flavored things are my favorite, I always look forward to this time of year just so I can eat all the pumpkin treats I can find. Definitely making these!
Thanks Eva. Pumpkin does seem to strike a chord doesn’t it. The shorter days don’t seem so bad when we get to eat Pumpkin!
Lol! I had to put them in the basement fridge to keep them out of sight out of mind! They were calling my name:)
Can your new office be in my house so I can eat your brownies all day long? These look awesome lady!! And congrats!!